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Toews Named A Finalist For Messier NHL Leadership Award

May 20, 2013 2:35 PM

(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

(CBS) Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews is a finalist for the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award, which is presented to the player who exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice during the regular season.

Daniel Alfredsson of the Ottawa Senators and Dustin Brown of the Los Angeles Kings are the other finalists.

Former NHL star Mark Messier determines the winner of the award. He solicits suggestions from from club and NHL personnel and fans to come up with the finalists and then makes a final decision on the winner.

The following is the explanation of Toews’ nomination as provided by the award:

Toews was named captain of the Blackhawks in 2008 when he was just 20-years-old, making him the third-youngest captain in NHL history at the time. While his leadership on the ice is undisputed, his role off the ice with various children’s charitable causes makes him an undeniable role model to fans. In his spare time, Toews volunteers to grant wishes through the Make-A-Wish Foundation and visits with patients at the local children’s hospital and Chicago’s Misericordia. Last fall, he returned home to join the Winnipeg Patrolmen Hockey Club and other NHL players for the “Goals for Dreams Hockey Challenge,” which helped raise $80,000 for the Children’s Hospital Foundation and the Dream Factory, a charity that grants dreams for critically and chronically ill children.